Missionaries of the World

The latest person to finish a doctorate on Christian persecution in Kandhamal is a priest from the same Odisha district. Fr. Udayanath Bishoyi of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Archdiocese defended his doctoral research at Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth (JDV), Pontifical Institute of Philosophy and Religion, Pune recently in the topic of “The Flames of Faith: Christological Reading of the Suffering, hope and Mission of the People of Kandhamal.”

World Mission is celebrating 20 years of global ministry. Two decades of commitment is a big milestone, whether in marriage or ministry. “One of our national partners from the country of Myanmar, formerly Burma, will be joining us and sharing a testimony right from the field of how God is using The Treasure to bring Buddhists to know Jesus Christ,” shares Executive Director Greg Kelley.

Pope Francis convened a Consistory of Cardinals on Monday morning in the Vatican. Originally scheduled in order to proceed with the causes of candidates for beatification, the Holy Father expanded the agenda of the meeting to include discussion of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. In remarks to the gathered Cardinals at the morning session of the gathering, the Holy Father focused on the need for constant prayer and effective advocacy in favor of peace, and for specific attention to the plight of Christians there.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) condemns the violence on women and girls and invites its member churches and partners to join the World YWCA campaign “NoXcuses for Violence against Women”. “There is no excuse for violence against women. There is no excuse for ignoring it!” With this message the campaign marks the World YWCA Week without Violence observed from 13 – 19 October, leading up to 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an international campaign, which starts on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and ends on December 10, the Human Rights Day.

The State Government of Karnataka in India rejected the report of the Justice B K Somasekhara Commission of inquiry into the 2008 church attacks in the State, which had exonerated the Hindutva organisations, after referring to their involvement in its interim report. Soon after the Bharatiya Janata Party Government came to power in Karnataka in 2008, there were a series of attacks on churches and prayer halls in Mangalore and other parts of Karnataka. Following protests from political parties and people from various fields, the Government constituted a commission for conducting enquiry. The report had given a clean chit to the then BJP Government.

Members of the Franciscan Families in India have resolved to oppose violence against women and help girl children attain their full growth and potential. “We Franciscans, known for the charism of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi, the followers of Christ and his Gospel, lovers of God, of humanity and of every creature, say ‘No’ to violence against women, and we are committed to helping the growth and development of girls,” says the Association of Franciscan Families of India (AFFI).

A delegation led by Thorhild Widvey, Minister of Culture in Norway along with prominent Norwegian politicians and church leaders was welcomed on September 30, 2014 at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The delegation included Catharina Munthe, Political Adviser to the Norwegian Ministry of Culture; Ingrid Vad Nilsen, Director General in Department of Church Affairs in the Ministry of Culture; Inger Lise Lero, Advisor to the Ministry of Government administration, reform and church affairs from the Church of Norway; Jens-Petter Johnsen, Director of the Church Council in the Norwegian Church and Berit Hagen Agoy, General Secretary of the Council on Ecumenical and International Relations in the Church of Norway.

Christians have strongly condemned the decision of the Government sponsored-the Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi to close down Mother Teresa Chair in Health, Education and Social Work which was started with much fanfare in the Christ Jubilee Year 2000 and has demanded to "not close down" the chair. The Mother Teresa Chair is actually being closed down for lack of funds.